Elijah came before the palanquin with Iris walking beside him.One side panel stood open, revealing Mother seated in her usual Burmese posture with her back towards them. A beautiful bird rested along her forearm, its feathers carrying several bright colours.She made no effort to conceal her withered hand stroking its back, though the veil still covered her face completely.“Elijah, you are here.” Her voice remained calm as she continued tending to the creature.Elijah’s brows drew together slightly. She called him by his name with a familiarity he still did not understand, as though they had spoken many times before rather than meeting only the previous day.He stepped closer without commenting on it.Mother extended her arm beyond the palanquin and loosened her fingers around the bird.“Fly now.”The creature left her hand immediately, passing over Elijah’s head before disappearing through the cave entrance. His gaze followed its path until Mother beckoned him nearer and held out

The group did not delay before moving towards the mountains.The closer they came, the quicker their pace became. What had first appeared to be a narrow break in the mountain range gradually revealed itself as a broad passage running between two towering peaks and opening into another chain beyond them.There would be no need to climb over the mountains or search for a hidden route around them. The path stood exactly where it had been drawn on the map.Now that the destination was within reach, the disciples of the Zenith Sisterhood moved to the front of the group, leaving Elijah behind despite relying upon him to guide them since the previous day.He neither objected nor appeared surprised. His attention remained on the rocky ground and the shape of the mountains as he followed at a slower pace, allowing the eager women to move ahead.A part of his mind still returned to the same unanswered question.How had Mother known which cave would bring them here?The dense vegetation covering

Elijah and Iris exchanged a brief look before turning back towards the bald woman.“I will not have my time wasted today,” she barked. “Choose.”Elijah leaned slightly towards Iris without taking his eyes off the woman. “You don’t happen to carry acupuncture needles, do you?”Her eyes widened at once. “Mister Elijah, you can’t possibly be thinking…”She stopped herself, but Elijah already understood her concern.Iris had seen what he accomplished with silver needles inside the Heart-Corrupting Forest. He had brought down every affected disciple of the Zenith Sisterhood, including Rowan, but that situation had been completely different. The women had rushed willingly into his reach without considering him a threat.The people standing before them now were waiting for the slightest hostile movement.One of the archers raised his weapon impatiently. “Stop wasting time and decide. You don’t need this long to choose who dies.”Elijah took Iris’s hesitation as an answer and looked towards

Elijah did not stop after the first needle locked Rowan’s body in place. His fingers moved again, releasing several more in quick succession until silver streaks began striking different points along her back.Each needle entered at a carefully measured position, and within moments they formed a perfect circle around her spine with almost identical spacing between them.Iris watched in amazement, though she still had no idea what Elijah intended to accomplish.The first needle had not been used merely to immobilise Rowan. Elijah needed her completely still so that every needle following it could be placed without the slightest movement interfering with their positions.Sorn remained completely unaware of what was happening behind Rowan. Her attention was fixed on the frozen woman before her, while Elijah and Iris stood behind her immediate line of sight.Seeing Rowan trapped in that strange posture only made her laugh harder. “If you intend to pretend you’re dead, at least have the se

The five archers finally realised that Sorn was being forced too far back and raised their weapons.Three arrows were released first, followed almost immediately by another two from wider angles. Rowan sensed them before they entered her immediate range and shifted past the first, then twisted beneath the second as both disappeared harmlessly behind her.The third came directly towards her chest, but Rowan cut it cleanly in half without breaking her pursuit of Sorn.The remaining two approached from opposite sides, forcing her to stamp one foot and release a burst of spiritual energy through her sword. The force knocked both arrows away before continuing towards the archers.They tried to scatter, but the wave struck before they could separate and threw all five men from their feet. Two crashed heavily against the rocks, while the others rolled across the ground with their bows slipping from their hands.Sorn seized the distract